ARLINGTON, Texas – James Brockermeyer sat at a table on the 20-yard line at AT&T Stadium on Monday morning during Miami’s Cotton Bowl media session and couldn’t help but smile.

While growing up in Fort Worth, the center attended more than a few Dallas Cowboys games at AT&T Stadium and even took the field himself to play in a couple of Pee Wee Football championships.

To know that come Wednesday, he’ll take the field there again – this time as a Hurricane playing in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Ohio State – felt a bit surreal.

“It is really cool and you can say it’s a full-circle moment,” Brockermeyer said. “Just to grow up coming to games here, watching Dez Bryant and guys like that and to now be able to play in a game of this magnitude here is both really cool and special. It’s just a testament to all the work all the players and coaches have put in this year.”

There’s no doubt Brockermeyer has been part of Miami’s success this season.

The redshirt senior was one of the Hurricanes who helped pave the way for running back Mark Fletcher Jr. to run for a career-high 172 rushing yards in Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M in the Hurricanes’ CFP opener on Dec. 20.

And on the season, Brockermeyer – whose father Blake played in the NFL for nine years and whose two brothers Luke and Tommy both have collegiate experience – has helped the Miami offense average 414.5 yards and 32.2 points per game, numbers that helped the Hurricanes reach this point in the season.

“I mean, he’s very professional. He’s got those bloodlines, right? Whole family’s been doing it forever and that offensive line room led by coach [Alex] Mirabal has a certain level of DNA as well,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Very high standards, extremely hard work ethic, high-level work ethic … a guy like James being the same type of guy, we thought he was a perfect fit. It was a seamless transition. We’ve been blessed with some really good centers for the past few years and he stepped right in. He’s been awesome all year, really has been. He’s tough and he’s physical. He’s smart. He’s an absolute grinder. Just absolutely love what he’s done for the program this year.”

For his part, Brockermeyer has appreciated his time with the Hurricanes, too, saying that joining Miami’s program and learning under Cristobal – a former two-time national champion offensive lineman himself – and Mirabal has been “a huge blessing.”

“It’s something I’m always going to be grateful and proud to have been a part of,” Brockermeyer said. “And Coach Mirabal, the first day I got here, just immediately got to work, teaching me the system. He’s poured so much into me this year and at the end of the day, I’m always just trying to prove him right and prove ourselves right. All the guys, I came in, they welcomed me and treated me as one of their own immediately and we just hit the ground running and haven’t looked back.”

South Florida in the Spotlight

With Miami playing in the Cotton Bowl and facing an Ohio State team that’s done well recruiting in South Florida of late, there was plenty of talk at Monday’s media day about the high level of high school football played in South Florida – and how often some of the Hurricanes and Buckeyes’ have already played against each other.

Miami’s roster currently features 30 players from either Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, while Ohio State’s roster has five – including most notably All-American wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who starred at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, the same place Miami’s Jojo Trader, Chris Ewald, Jr. and Donta Simpson all played.

Those connections are one of the biggest storylines entering the game, with Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney noting it’s more proof of the kind of football talent South Florida produces.

“South Florida just breeds dogs,” Toney said. “We’re just different. Our preparation, our grind. We know where we come from.”

Ready to Lead

The Hurricanes may be making their first appearance in the College Football Playoff, but one of their veteran playmakers has been on this stage previously.

Quarterback Carson Beck, a transfer from Georgia, has playoff experience and says that his time with the Bulldogs – even as a young player on the sideline – has helped him develop into the signal caller he is.

Beck, a redshirt senior, has thrown for 3,175 yards and 26 touchdowns. His 75.5 percent completion percentage ranks second in the nation behind only the quarterback who’ll be on the opposing sideline Wednesday, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.

“It’s always a super dope opportunity to make it this far and be in this position, but I was having this conversation the other day with my family, and it’s like my whole college football career – even when I wasn’t playing at Georgia – we were always in these types of games, so it’s normal to an extent,” Beck said. “I’ve been in these games and moments, even not playing, being on the sideline, being around teams that have been here. It feels a little bit better to be the quarterback, to lead a team to this position. I’m just super blessed to have this opportunity. …

“I think the biggest thing is just understanding what it takes to win games like this, to get to this position, the preparation, the work, the week, what it looks like, how to handle this environment.”

Added Cristobal, “Certainly, it’s a great benefit to have a quarterback that’s been in situations similar to this. They’re all very different and unique, but he does have tremendous experience against some really high-level competition. And if you look at a lot of guys on our roster, they maybe have not played in a playoff game, so to speak, but certainly a lot of experience at a lot of different positions. And they’re guys that are really professional about their approach, about their work and have done a great job preparing through the last game and now as we head into this game as well. So, between [Beck] and the rest of those guys, certainly, it gets you excited as a coach knowing that those guys approach every single day like a true professional.”

Iron Sharpens Iron

The Hurricanes enter Wednesday’s CFP quarterfinal with one of the best pass rushes in the nation thanks in large part to defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.

Between them, the two have totaled 25 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.

Part of the reason they believe they’ve been so successful? They way they push each other in practice and how they make everything a contest.

“I think it’s a great relationship. You always somebody to be able to compete against. We compete in everything,” Mesidor said. “We have GPS Catapults in our pads. It could be who ran the fastest during practice, who had the most explosive get-off, who had the most explosive yards? It could be little things and then it could be, ‘I’m going to get to the quarterback before you,’ ‘Alright, bet, show me you can.’ It’s in everything we do. But I love it. It makes me better and it makes him better.”

Mesidor noted their competitiveness extends even beyond the field, with the pair good naturedly arguing about everything from how much film they study or even who got to practice earlier.

“It makes us better. I know he’s watching me and I’m also watching him. I’m trying to outperform him, and he’s trying to outperform me in everything we do. Ultimately, it makes us better and not only us, but the younger guys also see that, and they want to follow our footsteps, and it makes them better. It’s contagious.”